


birthday surprises

by SerenePanic



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Crack, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-29
Updated: 2017-01-29
Packaged: 2018-09-20 16:31:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9500171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SerenePanic/pseuds/SerenePanic
Summary: Colleen Holt will never understand why her children are the way they are.





	

**Author's Note:**

> (for noah, whom I love so much)  
> (with some particular influences by thebroganenetwork people, who are the Best)

 

 “Matt, you are the _worst_ I can’t believe you. Mom. Mom look what he’s done now.” Katie grinned up at her mother from where she was sitting on the floor. “He’s _awful_ can we get a refund on him?”

Colleen Holt sighed deeply. “Sweetpea…”

Katie cleared her throat. “Sorry. Matt, brother mine, light of my life, _thank you_ for your incredibly _thoughtful_ gift. I love it _so much_ that I’m going to put it on _right now_.”

Matt smiled. “No problems, sister dearest. I _do_ hope it fits, you know. It would be such a _shame_ for it to be the wrong size, you know.”

Colleen looked at her husband, who looked right back at her, as their youngest left the room to the sound of her brother outright _giggling_ like a four-year-old who farted in the bathtub.

“Sam, where did we go wrong?”

Her husband smiled at her, patting her gently on the shoulder. “Well, at least the two of them are amused.”

Katie came back in, hands twisting around the hem of her shirt. “Well? What do you think?” There was a wry twist to her voice that implied something about it should be a joke, but all Colleen could tell was that Matthew had gotten his sister a cute, if slightly large, raglan-style shirt with green sleeves and a cute pink flower motif on the body.

“I think it’s very nice, and it was very kind of your brother to pick out such a cute shirt,” Colleen said with a gentle warning.

Katie snorted and plopped onto the ground next to her brother. “You totally don’t get it, do you?”

Matt moved his arm and started patting his sister’s hair. “Don’t worry, _sweetpea_ , I’m sure she’ll pick up on it eventually. In the meantime…Happy Birthday, you crazy midget. Eleven years old. Have mercy on the world, why don’t you?”

* * *

In the months that followed, it rapidly became commonplace to see Katie wearing that flower shirt. Sometimes, Colleen would stare at it and wonder why the flower pattern seemed so familiar, before dismissing it and moving on to more pressing matters. Still, though, she would catch her daughter fiddling with the hem of her shirt and just giggling to herself.

Almost before Colleen could realize it, it was Matt’s birthday. (Sixteen. Good lord, where was the time going? Her children would be all grown up before she realized it, if they kept on just growing like this.)

In some universe, in some time, Katie would give her brother some well-meaning and well-received gift, and that would be the end of it. In this universe, however, Katie, once again wearing that uncharacteristically pink shirt, sat perched on the edge of her seat, nearly vibrating with excitement as Matt slowly peeled open the wrapping paper.

“Oh mY GO— _KATIE_ —I CAN’T— _THIS IS THE BEST THING I’VE EVER SEEN_ ,” Matt practically shrieked as he pulled out…a plain white tee-shirt?

Colleen frowned. There must be something on the front to get such a reaction, right? Before she could ask to see it, though, her son dashed out of the room, clutching that shirt like it was the only thing in his life that had any meaning anymore.

Katie started to giggle.

Matt ran back in.

At first, Colleen didn’t understand. It was a plain white shirt with green letters across the chest that simply said “MAN”. Then Sam, sitting beside her, snorted. She looked back at the green letters. From this angle, as Matt stood, talking to his sister and gesticulating wildly, it took some concentration, but it quickly became apparent that the green letters were actually just made up of …green...leaves. ( _Oh no_ _._ )

Colleen groaned.

Matt cackled.

Katie giggled harder.

Sam shook his head, grinning wryly.

“A family full of brilliant and talented individuals, and the two of you get each other shirts relating to the nicknames you’re most likely to regret in thirty years?” Colleen shook her head. “I understand that yes, alright, maybe it took me a while to understand Katie’s shirt. That said, a sweetpea isn’t exactly the most well-known flower. Matt, you, however… _please_ tell me you don’t intend to wear that shirt out in public.”

Sam put his arm around Colleen and patted her shoulder. “Now, really, Colleen, what are the odds that he’ll go out wearing that shirt and introduce himself by saying, ‘Hi, I’m Weedman Holt’?”

Colleen glared at her (traitorous) husband as her children literally collapsed onto the floor from laughing. “Far too high now, thank you!”


End file.
